TWI545334B - Apparatuses for indoor positioning - Google Patents

Description

Indoor positioning device

The present invention relates to a positioning technique, and more particularly to an indoor positioning method and apparatus using the same.

The current Global Positioning System (GPS) or the Assisted Global Positioning System (AGPS) calculates the position by tracking satellite signals. However, satellite signals are easily obscured by buildings and are not suitable for indoor use. Therefore, there is a need for an indoor positioning method and apparatus using the same that solve the above-described problems.

Embodiments of the present invention propose an indoor positioning method, which is executed by a processing unit in a slave node, and includes the following steps. When the indoor positioning function is activated, the slave node is set to not accept the connection status. The announcement message is periodically broadcast in the announcement state, which includes the identification code representing the slave node, the time stamp when the announcement message is sent, and the transmission power.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides an indoor positioning method, which is executed by a processing unit in a master node, and includes the following steps. Obtaining the transmission power in the announcement message from the announcer in the scanning phase; calculating the reception strength of the announcement message; calculating the attenuation degree according to the transmission power and the reception intensity; determining according to the attenuation degree The distance between the electronic device and the announcer; and the positioning information corresponding to the announcer is transmitted to the positioning server. The location information includes the location of the master node, the advertiser's identification code, the timestamp in the announcement message, and the calculated distance, so that the location server can calculate the advertiser's location based on the location information.

Embodiments of the present invention provide an indoor positioning device including a communication interface and a processing unit. The processing unit is coupled to the communication interface, and when the indoor positioning function is activated, the electronic device is set to not accept the connection state; and the announcement message is periodically broadcasted through the communication interface in the announcement state. The announcement message contains an identification code representing the electronic device, a time stamp when the announcement message is sent, and the transmission power.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides an indoor positioning device including a communication interface and a processing unit. The processing unit is coupled to the communication interface, and obtains the transmission power in the announcement message from the announcer through the communication interface in the scanning phase; calculates the reception strength of the announcement message; calculates the attenuation degree according to the transmission power and the reception intensity; determines the electronic device according to the attenuation degree The distance from the announcer; and the location information corresponding to the announcer is transmitted to the location server. The location information includes the location of the electronic device, the advertiser's identification code, the timestamp in the announcement message, and the calculated distance, so that the location server can calculate the advertiser's location based on the location information.

10‧‧‧ indoor positioning system

110‧‧‧Local Network/Internet

131~136‧‧‧Bluetooth Node

150‧‧‧ mobile device

170‧‧‧Location Server

210‧‧‧Processing unit

220‧‧‧ display unit

230‧‧‧ Input device

240‧‧‧Storage device

250‧‧‧ memory

260‧‧‧Communication interface

310‧‧‧Processing unit

330‧‧‧ Input device

340‧‧‧Storage device

350‧‧‧ memory

360‧‧‧Communication interface

S410‧‧‧ scan status

S420‧‧‧ Standby

S430‧‧‧ Initialization phase

S440‧‧‧ connection phase

S450‧‧‧ Announcement Status

S510~S560‧‧‧ method steps

S610~S650‧‧‧ method steps

1 is a network architecture diagram of an indoor positioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a system architecture diagram of an arithmetic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a system architecture diagram of an arithmetic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a connection layer state machine in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a flow diagram of an indoor positioning method performed by a processing unit of a mobile device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a flow chart showing an indoor positioning method performed by a processing unit of a Bluetooth node in a scanning state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The following description is a preferred embodiment of the invention, which is intended to describe the basic spirit of the invention, but is not intended to limit the invention. The actual inventive content must be referenced to the scope of the following claims.

It must be understood that the terms "comprising", "comprising" and "the" are used in the <RTI ID=0.0> </RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> to indicate the existence of specific technical features, numerical values, method steps, work processes, components and/or components, but do not exclude Add more technical features, values, method steps, job processing, components, components, or any combination of the above.

The words "first", "second", and "third" are used in the claims to modify the elements in the claims, and are not used to indicate a priority order, an advance relationship, or a component. Prior to another component, or the chronological order in which the method steps are performed, it is only used to distinguish components with the same name.

1 is a network architecture diagram of an indoor positioning system 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. For example, a three-dimensional space contains six Bluetooth Nodes 131 to 136, and the user can carry the mobile device 150 to move freely in the three-dimensional space, and knows the current help by the Bluetooth nodes 131 to 136. s position. Each of the Bluetooth nodes 131 to 136 is placed in a three-dimensional space Fixed location. The mobile device 150 can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a smart watch, or the like. The Bluetooth nodes 131 through 136 form a multi-mesh network, each of which can communicate with neighboring nodes. The Bluetooth node 131 can be equipped with a Local Area Network (LAN) module or a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) module for connecting to the local area network, the Internet, or both. 110. Any of the Bluetooth nodes 131 to 136 may have the function of a repeater so that data can be transferred one by one to nodes that are not directly connected. For example, although the Bluetooth node 136 cannot directly connect to the Bluetooth node 133 due to distance or transmission power limitations, the data can be passed to the Bluetooth node 133 via the Bluetooth node 134 or 135. The mobile device 150 continuously broadcasts advertisement messages using a specific communication (e.g., Bluetooth 4.0) including at least information representing the identification code, timestamp, and transmission power (Tx Power) of the mobile device 150. The Bluetooth node 131 to 136 obtains the announcement message broadcast by the mobile device 150, calculates the reception strength of the announcement message, determines the attenuation degree according to the transmission power in the announcement message and the calculated reception strength, and determines the attenuation degree according to the attenuation degree. The distance from the mobile device 150. Any one of the Bluetooth nodes 131 to 136 may further locate positioning information, such as its own three-dimensional spatial location, identification information of the mobile device 150, time stamp of the announcement message, and the calculated distance, via other Bluetooth nodes (eg, It is necessary) and the local area network, the Internet, or both 110 to transmit to the location server 170. The location server 170 continuously collects the location information reported by the Bluetooth nodes 131-136 and uses the multi-angle positioning method to update the three-dimensional position of the mobile device 150 accordingly.

2 is a system frame of an arithmetic device according to an embodiment of the present invention Composition. The system architecture can be implemented on the mobile device 150 and the location server 170, including at least the processing unit 210. The processing unit 210 can be implemented in a variety of manners, such as a dedicated hardware circuit or a general purpose hardware (eg, a single processor, a multiprocessor with parallel processing capabilities, a graphics processor, or other computing capable processor), and When the code or software is executed, the functions described later are provided. The system architecture further includes a memory 250 for storing data required for execution, such as variables, data tables, etc., and a storage device 240 for storing various electronic files, such as web pages and files. , audio files, video files, etc. The system architecture further includes a communication interface 260 for the processing unit 210 to communicate with the Bluetooth nodes 131-136 or other electronic devices. The communication interface 260 can be a low cost, low power Bluetooth module. The input device 230 can include a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, and the like. The user can press a hard key on the keyboard to enter a character, control the mouse by operating the mouse, or create a gesture on the touch panel to control the executing application. The gesture may include, but is not limited to, a click, a double click, a single-finger drag, a multi-finger drag, and the like. The display unit 220 can include a display panel (eg, a thin film liquid crystal display panel, an organic light emitting diode panel, or other display capable panel) for displaying input characters, numbers, symbols, dragging the mouse's movement track, and drawing The picture provided by the pattern or application is provided for viewing by the user.

Figure 3 is a system architecture diagram of an arithmetic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. This system architecture can be implemented in any of the Bluetooth nodes 131-136, including at least the processing unit 310. The processing unit 310 can be implemented in a variety of manners, such as dedicated hardware circuits or general purpose hardware (eg, a single processor, multiple processors with parallel processing capabilities, graphics processors, or other computing capable processors). And when the code or software is executed, the functions described later are provided. The system architecture further includes a memory 350 for storing data required for execution, such as variables, data sheets, etc., and a storage device 340 for storing a variety of electronic files. The system architecture further includes a communication interface 360 for the processing unit 310 to communicate with the mobile device 150 or other wireless device. The communication interface 360 can be a low cost, low power Bluetooth module.

At deployment time, the Bluetooth nodes 131 through 136 are configured as master nodes and the mobile device 150 is configured as a slave node. The Bluetooth nodes 131 to 136 and the mobile device 150 respectively implement a state machine on the link layer for managing one of the Bluetooth nodes 131 to 136 and the mobile device 150 in the connection layer. The exchange of messages and the processing corresponding to the receipt of the message. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a connection layer state machine in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. When the Bluetooth is turned on or turned on, the Bluetooth nodes 131 to 136 and the mobile device 150 are in the Standby state S420. Next, the mobile device 150 periodically enters an advertising state S450 from the standby state S420 for broadcasting advertisement messages, and the Bluetooth nodes 131 to 136 periodically enter the scanning state S410 from the standby state S420. It is used to scan whether there is any announcement message broadcast by any slave in a specific frequency band. In general, when the Bluetooth node 131 to 136 detects the announcement message broadcast by the mobile device 150, it enters an Initiating state S430 for transmitting a connection request to the mobile device 150. When the mobile device 150 accepts the connection request of any of the Bluetooth nodes 131 to 136 in the standby state S420, both the mobile device 150 and the requested Bluetooth node enter the Connection state S440.

When the mobile device 150 activates the indoor positioning function, it is set to not accept the connection state, and the function of connecting with any Bluetooth node is turned off. Because when the mobile device 150 is connected to any Bluetooth node, more state transitions and message exchanges are needed, hindering the broadcast of the announcement message, so that the mobile device 150 cannot be located more frequently. Figure 5 is a flow diagram of an indoor positioning method performed by processing unit 210 of mobile device 150 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, which periodically broadcasts an announcement message to a Bluetooth node. First, when the indoor positioning function is activated, the mobile device 150 is set to not accept the connection state (step S510). In step S510, the user can use the Man-machine Interface (MMI) provided by the mobile device 150 to perform this setting. Next, the broadcast timer is started to issue an interrupt to the processing unit 210 after a certain period of time (step S520). Then, a loop is repeatedly executed (steps S530 to S550) for periodically broadcasting the announcement message. In detail, when the processing unit 210 detects an interruption issued by the broadcast timer, indicating that the broadcast timer has counted for a certain period of time (for example, one second) (step S530), the announcement state S450 is entered to broadcast the announcement message (step S540). Then, it is judged whether or not the indoor positioning function is turned off (step S550). It should be noted here that when entering the announcement state S450, the mobile device 150 is regarded as an announcer. If so, the mobile device 150 is set to accept the connection state (step S560), and the entire flow is ended. Otherwise, it returns to the standby state S420, and the broadcast counter is reset (step S520). In step S540, the processing unit 210 can broadcast the announcement message through the communication interface 260 using the iBeacon packet. Since the mobile device 150 is set to not accept the connection state, the processing unit 210 sets the packet data unit type (PDU type) of the header of the iBeacon packet to "ADV_SCAN_IND", so that any of the Bluetooth nodes 131 to 136 I detected the iBeacon packet for this broadcast. At this time, the connection request is not sent to the mobile device 150. It should be noted here that in order to prevent any of the Bluetooth nodes 131 to 136 from attempting to establish a connection with the mobile device 150, the processing unit 210 does not set the packet data unit type of the header of the iBeacon packet to "ADV_IND". The processing unit 210 may further encapsulate the information into the packet data unit (PDU Body) in the manner of Table 1:

The processing unit 210 may store the timestamp at the time of sending the announcement message in the "Timestamp" field, store the identification information representing the mobile device 150 in the "User ID" field, and store the announcement message in the "Tx Power" field. The transmit power, as well as the information needed to store the application in the "User Status" field, such as health-related information such as heartbeat, blood pressure, and body temperature.

Figure 6 is an indoor setting performed by the processing unit 310 of any one of the Bluetooth nodes 131 to 136 in the scanning state S410 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Bit method flow chart. It should be noted here that when entering the scanning state S410, the Bluetooth node is regarded as a Scanner. After obtaining the announcement message broadcast by the announcer (for example, the mobile device 150) (step S610), it is determined whether a connection with the announcer needs to be established (step S620). In step S620, the processing unit 310 may determine that the packet data unit type (PDU type) in the header of the iBeacon packet is set to "ADV_SCAN_IND" or "ADV_IND". If the packet data unit type (PDU type) in the header of the iBeacon packet is set to "ADV_IND", it is judged that a connection needs to be established with the advertiser; if the packet data unit type (PDU type) in the header of the iBeacon packet is set As "ADV_SCAN_IND", it is judged that there is no need to establish a connection with the advertiser. If it is necessary to establish a connection with the announcer ("YES" in step S620), the processing unit 310 establishes a connection with the announcer through the communication interface 360 using a specific communication protocol (step S650). If there is no need to establish a connection with the announcer ("NO" in step S620), the processing unit 310 calculates the received strength (RSSI) of the announcement message (step S631), and calculates according to the transmission power in the announcement message. The received intensity determines the degree of attenuation (step S633), and determines the distance from the announcer according to the degree of attenuation, wherein the greater the degree of attenuation, the further the distance is represented (step S635), and the transmission of positioning information, such as the three-dimensional position of the scanner The announcement information of the announcer, the time stamp of the announcement message, and the calculated distance, via the other Bluetooth node (if necessary) and the regional network, the Internet, or both 110 to the location server 170 (step S637) .

Although the above-described elements are included in FIGS. 2 to 3, it is not excluded that more other additional elements are used without departing from the spirit of the invention, and a better technical effect has been achieved. In addition, although the method flow diagrams of Figures 5 and 6 are performed in a specific order, it is familiar to the art without the spirit of the invention. A person can modify the order between these steps while achieving the same effect, and therefore, the present invention is not limited to using only the order as described above.

Although the present invention has been described using the above embodiments, it should be noted that these descriptions are not intended to limit the invention. On the contrary, this invention covers modifications and similar arrangements that are apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the claims should be interpreted in the broadest form to include all obvious modifications and similar arrangements.

S510~S560‧‧‧ method steps

Claims (10)

An indoor positioning device comprises: a communication interface; and a processing unit coupled to the communication interface, when the indoor positioning function is activated, the indoor positioning device is set to a state that does not accept the connection, and is closed with any Bluetooth a function of connecting the node; and periodically broadcasting an announcement message through the communication interface in an announcement state, wherein the announcement message includes an identification code representing the indoor positioning device, a time stamp when the announcement message is sent, and a Transmit power. The indoor positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast of the announcement message uses an iBeacon packet. The indoor positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit further determines whether the indoor positioning function is turned off; and when the indoor positioning function is turned off, setting the indoor positioning device to an acceptance connection. status. The indoor positioning device of claim 3, wherein the broadcast of the announcement message uses an iBeacon packet, and when the indoor positioning device is set to the non-received connection state, the processing unit encapsulates the iBeacon packet. A packet data unit type of a header is set to "ADV_SCAN_IND". The indoor positioning device as described in claim 1 is a slave node. An indoor positioning device comprising: And a processing unit coupled to the communication interface, wherein a transmission power in an announcement message is obtained from a announcer through the communication interface in a scanning phase; and a receiving strength of the announcement message is calculated; Transmitting power and the receiving strength to calculate a degree of attenuation; determining a distance between the indoor positioning device and the announcer according to the attenuation degree; and transmitting a positioning information corresponding to the announcer to a positioning server, wherein the positioning The information includes a first location of the indoor positioning device, an identification code of the announcer, a time stamp in the announcement message, and the distance, so that the positioning server can calculate a second of the announcer according to the positioning information. position. The indoor positioning device of claim 6, wherein the processing unit determines whether a connection with the announcer needs to be established; and when the connection with the announcer does not need to be established, calculating a reception of the announcement message strength. The indoor positioning device of claim 7, wherein the broadcast of the announcement message uses an iBeacon packet. For example, in the indoor positioning device described in claim 8, when a packet data unit type in a header of the iBeacon packet is set to "ADV_SCAN_IND", it is not necessary to establish a connection with the announcer. The indoor positioning device of claim 6, wherein the indoor positioning device is configured as a master node, and the announcer is configured as a slave node.